Best of Denver Winners from 1999

In 1999, Westword published its sixteenth Best of Denver issue, a celebration of the city that saluted everything from the Best New Public Art (Donald Lipski’s still-beloved “Yearling”) to Best Brunch Served by Drag Queens (Bump and Grind) to Best Hair on a TV Personality (Adele Arakawa, as serious as her coiffure). But one award is still looking particularly good: Best Place to Suit Up, given to Suavecito, a small, almost unknown store on Santa Fe. “It was awesome,” remembers Craig Peña, who started the place with his pal Jay Salas. “It was fun to be part of that tradition in Denver — Westword and the Best Of. We were honored and privileged to be part of the cool-people club.”

Over the past nine years, Suavecito has expanded its line — it now offers business suits, and dresses Mayor John Hickenlooper as well as some of his staffers — and its reputation, collecting media stories from across the country. But that 1999 award in Westword was its first official recognition, and it was a clothes call. “We had barely broken the news to our family at the time,” Peña recalls. “How do you tell your family that you opened a zoot suit shop? For this, you went to Columbia?”

Here are the rest of the 1999 winners:

Best of 1999

People and Places

Best Legal Defense of Beer:
Broadway Brewing LLC V. David C. Reitz and The Colorado Department of Revenue

Best Quote About Beer:
Four Mile House Bar

Best Liquid Asset:
Colorado: A Liquid History

Best Historic Religious Use of Beer:
Liberal Church of Denver

Best Bears:
Denver Wrangler

Best JonBenet Ramsey Clue, Year Three:
Santa Bear

Best JonBenet Character, Year Three:
Lawrence Schiller

BEST DAILY J.T. COLFAX UPDATE:
Http://I.Am/Jtcolfax

Best Guess for When (If Ever) The JonBenet Grand Jury will Hand Down an Indictment:
July 1, 1999, or when Hell Freezes Over
Readers' Choice:
Never